The present invention relates generally to water cooling devices and, more particularly, to an in-line water chilling device which cools water from a water supply source and provides cooled water to an outlet or dispenser, such as a faucet or the like.
Chilled water has become a popular beverage as a consequence of the popularity of bottled water dispensers. This has led to a demand for chilled drinking water to be available xe2x80x98on tapxe2x80x99 at a kitchen sink in the home or at the sink in a motor home. Typically, water coolers or chillers include a cooling probe to cool the water within a tank such that the water discharged from the tank is cool for drinking. To date, such chillers have always included the cooling probe at the bottom of the tank.
The present invention is intended to provide an in-line water chiller or cooler which receives un-cooled water from a water supply source and discharges cooled water to an outlet, such as a faucet at a kitchen sink or the like. The in-line water chiller or cooler of the present invention includes a compact chiller tank and associated cooling probe that maximizes the volume of chilled water available. In the home, water might be supplied to the chiller tank after passing it through a special style of filter, a reverse osmosis system, or the like. In a motor home or the like, the water source could be a 5 gallon bottle or other volume container of purchased bottled water together with a suitable pump or pressure system.
According to an aspect of the present invention, an in-line water cooler for cooling a supply of water includes a cooling tank, a cooling device positioned within the cooling tank at an upper portion thereof, and a discharge outlet at a lower portion of the cooling tank. The water supply is connected to the cooling tank and provides a supply of uncooled water to the cooling tank. The cooling device is operable to cool the uncooled water, whereby the cooled water descends to the lower portion of the tank, such that the discharge outlet is operable to discharge cooled water from the lower portion of the cooling tank. The positioning of the cooling device at the top of the tank cools the water adjacent to the cooling device, thereby causing the water to become more dense, such that the cooler water sinks or descends downward away from the cooling device toward the lower portion of the tank. Any warmer, and thus less dense, water in the lower portion of the tank will then rise toward the upper portion and toward the cooling device. The cooling device arrangement of the present invention thus causes a continual mixing of the water inside the chiller tank by convection such that the water within the tank cools uniformly to a desired temperature.
Preferably, the in-line water cooler further includes a fan and heat sink device positioned at an upper end of the water tank and operable to direct heated air from the cooling device upward and away from the cooling tank. In one form, the water cooler includes a seal and a housing, with the seal positioned generally above the heat sink and the tank, which are all positioned within the housing. The discharge air from the fan is vented upward through the seal and out above the seal, while inlet air comes into the housing below the seal, such that the inlet and outlet air are separated from one another, thereby providing a lower temperature inlet air to the water chiller and, thus, improving the efficiency and performance of the water chiller. Preferably, the housing is secured to a wall of a cabinet or the like, with an opening cut through the wall at a location above the seal, such that the air discharged from the fan is discharged to another compartment away from the water chiller, to further optimize the performance of the system.
In another form, the water cooler may be located within a cabinet or the like having an upper vent and a lower vent. The heated air discharged by the fan rises and thus vents out through the upper vent, while the lower vent provides an inlet opening for ambient air to be drawn into the cabinet, whereby the cooling tank is generally surrounded by air which is generally at the temperature of the ambient air coming in through the lower vent.
According to another aspect of the present invention, an in-line water cooler for cooling water from a water supply includes a cooling tank, a cooling device and a housing. The cooling device is operable to cool the water and includes a fan positioned at an upper end of the cooling tank for discharging heated air generated by the cooling device when it is activated to cool the water. The cooling device further includes a seal, which separates and seals an upper portion from a lower portion of the housing. The tank is positioned in the lower portion of the housing. The fan is positioned at the seal and is operable to discharge the heated air into the upper portion of the housing and through a vent at the upper portion, while inlet air is provided within the housing through at least one inlet opening positioned below the seal, such that the inlet air does not mix with the discharged heated air and thus remains at a lower temperature. Preferably, the housing is mounted to a wall of a cabinet or the like, with the upper vent being an opening cut through the cabinet at a position generally corresponding to the upper portion of the housing above the seal, such that the heated air discharged by the fan is discharged through the opening in the wall of a cabinet and into another chamber away from the cabinet area at which the water tank is positioned. This provides for optimal performance of the cooling device, since the inlet air into the housing of the water chiller is maintained at a lower temperature because it is not mixed with the heated air being discharged from the cooling device.
Preferably, the cooling device is positioned within the cooling tank at an upper portion thereof, while a discharge outlet for discharging cooled water from the cooling tank is positioned at a lower portion of the cooling tank.
These and other objects, advantages, purposes and features of the present invention will become apparent upon review of the following specification in conjunction with the drawings.